LICTON SPRINGS COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of Community Meeting April 20, 2011,
NSCC Conference Room B2311

Directors Present:
Liz Kearns , Jerry Owens, Tom Meyer, Kay Mesirow, and Ellen Beck.

Board Representatives Present:
Kathleen Braden (List Serve).

Visitors:
Jan Brucker, Claire Bohmann, and Melanie Davies.

President Liz Kearns called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. She reported that Bruce Kieser was out of town, and Ken Thompson was at this evening’s North Precinct gathering.

Minutes
The March 16, 2011 minutes were approved as presented.

We had introductions around the table. Visitors were warmly welcomed.

Next Liz asked Claire Bohmann to explain her project. Claire is a UW student doing her Senior Geography Honors Thesis about Aurora Avenue and the neighborhoods, including Licton Springs, bordering it. She is doing research on community building mechanisms, accomplishments, expectations and goals. She hopes to gain a better understanding of the role Aurora plays in the lives of those who interact with it and is hoping to interview residents in the neighborhoods surrounding Aurora to understand the views and goals among these residents.

Discussion continued about Aurora Commons, a community space at 8914 Aurora Avenue North that was developed to provide a safe place of hospitality along Aurora Avenue. The driving force behind this development is the Awake Church. They wanted to develop a place where everyone was welcome, from homeless/transient to residents living nearby and visitors to our area. Everyone is welcome.

There was also a discussion of a homeless woman living at Wilson Pacific who uses the toilet by the track. These are difficult times.

Liz announced the Licton Springs Park bathrooms are only open five to six months out of the year.

There was also a discussion of the flooding which happens repeatedly in our area. Liz said that in the 35 years she has lived in the neighborhood, the flooding has become progressively worse. She believes this is due to the increased development to our north end and the fact that the underground pipes are too small for the current volume of runoff water. The situation is only going to get worse.

Tom Meyer mentioned the book by David Williams entitled Street Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from Seattle. Tom knows David Williams and suggested that it might be possible to go on a walking tour led by Mr. Williams in our City. All were enthusiastic about doing this!

OLD BUSINESS:

Sidewalk on North 100th
Liz reported that the money for the sidewalk project was not yet "tied down," but they were working on it.

She also mentioned there was a covenant between the City and NSCC to have sidewalks extending away from the College. Doug Cox had informed Liz that NSCC is on the list to get a sidewalk from North 97th to North 100th on College Way.

Amended Articles
Jan Brucker explained that it was necessary to amend our Articles to incorporate the 501(c)(3) provisions. It was good that we had approved the 501(c)(3) provisions previously, but she said it was also a good idea to make other changes to the Articles to "modernize" them and make them more inclusive.

Discussion of the proposed amendments followed. Kathleen Braden moved that the Amended Articles be approved, and Kay Mesirow seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

A discussion of the duties of corporations with 501(c)(3) status followed. It was thought that once we achieve the status, the IRS will send us guidelines. It was agreed that we need a backup system for our financial records.

Wilson Pacific
Wilson Pacific School is entering a new era. There are more young families now.

There was a discussion of what exists at Wilson Pacific, which our Neighborhood Plan focused on as a home base for the neighborhood. There is a gym and shop with equipment. It’s unfortunate that there can’t be community programs to make use of these resources.

NEW BUSINESS:

List-Serve Survey
Kathleen asked if people would be interested in a survey of who is on our List Serve. She believes that the survey will show that our List Serve does not reflect the full diversity of our neighborhood. She volunteered to work on the survey.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Ellen M. Beck, Secretary